


Hypothermia & Lethargy

by cadenjg



Category: Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Human AU, Romance, Slow Burn, Swearing, Tags will be added, graphic content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2019-12-18 17:24:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18254435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadenjg/pseuds/cadenjg
Summary: A particularly powerful snowstorm knocks out Peridots cable, interrupting the newest episode of Camp Pining Hearts. In the heat of frustration, she marches outside to knock some sense into her broken antennae. What Peridot does not expect is a new visitor lying face down in the snow.Takes place in Sauðárkrókur, Iceland.





	1. The Cliffhanger

_leth•ar•gy_   
_noun_   
_a lack of energy and enthusiasm_

 

Peridot was wide-eyed. The tip of her tongue was numb, and the only thing keeping her from dying at that exact moment was the cost of funerals.

There was a lot that lead up to this moment, way too much to tell you right now. Here is the short version:

Percy, the main character of Canadian soap-opera Camp Pining Hearts, is sharing a sleeping bag with Pierre. This escalated after numerous encounters between Percy & Pierre during the episode. To Peridot, Percy & Pierre's relationship was practically the only driving motivation for Peridot to get out of bed in the morning.

She had practically predicted the relationship would happen, claiming to be the unchallenged master of the lustrous (and according to Peridot, avoided,) subtext.

The scene, already tense, grew escalated as Percy locked eyes with Pierre.

_"Pierre.. Without you, we would've never won that competition. I'm just.. so grateful for you."_

Peridot let out a shrill squeak of excitement. "Ohmygod, ohmygod..!" She clung onto her black woolen pillow, adorned with a small green alien in the middle.

Pierre drew closer, and Percy did the same. Peridot felt her heart leaping backwards into her chest. This was what she had been praying for.  The crux of her sleepless nights, and the focal point of her theories stemming all the way back to Season 1.

She briefly asks for forgiveness to a made-up God for all of those heated arguments she had with people online about her wildly enthusiastic and far-fetched theories online.  Peridot could have sworn her clock stopped working, because every ticking second felt like a millennia.

And then.. _blip_.

"..WHAT?!" Peridot's heart dropped down south & visited Texas for winter break.

'Input source not found. Check your cable box.'

"Are you serious.." The blonde pushed her sleeves into her face, sinking back into her sofa with a disgruntled sigh. She didn't have to check the wires behind the TV to know what caused this mishap.

The snowstorm knocked out her antennae, disrupting her signal and ruining her live viewing experience of Camp Pining Hearts. A mistake on Peridots part, really. She had dismissed the snowstorm as an empty threat to her viewing experience, and here she was, paying the price for it.

The price, of course, being the most anticipated moment in her entire life.

Peridot was grateful that she didn't have any roommates. She probably looked like a tomato right now.

Her face was coated in a crimson flush, and her shallow breaths fogged up her glasses. She felt like crying. It was ridiculous, how tantalizingly invested she had become in this Canadian soap-opera. But to Peridot, it felt like all of her dreams were crumpled into a ball and tossed into the fireplace.

"Nyeh!" Peridot tossed her remote across the room, whilst simultaneously dropping the pillow she was clutching to the floor. If Peridot had been told that she would have been killed after watching the newest episode of Camp Pining Hearts, she would have watched it and placed it on repeat for the next three years. She would accept death better than being left on a cliffhanger like this.

With a hopeless sigh, she pushed herself off the sofa and wedged into a pair of thick snow-boots. It was either she did this now, or she would drive herself absolutely insane. As she slipped into a lime-tinted winter jacket, she squinted outside her window to get a look at just how bad the snow-storm was.

It looked like a tornado. Everything outside was swirling into a gargantuan cloud of white, and a  skyscraper of tremendous winds and thick snow covered the landscape. It was impossible to discern anything beyond ten feet of her window. The storm threw itself at the exterior of her home, putting a slight startle into Peridot as she pulled up the long zipper of her jacket. It was like a war was waging between the cold & wind; and Peridot's domicile was unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire.

Peridot gulped. Her fingers roamed to the side of her face, and she delicately removed her glasses. For a moment, she felt a headache coming. Her mind wasn't exactly keen without perfect vision. But she squared her shoulders and told herself to remain calm, and the feeling went as soon as it came.

She placed her glasses on the kitchen counter, right next to her stove. She slipped on a pair of gloves, and roamed around in her closet until she found a dusty pair of goggles.

With shaky hands, she slipped the old pair of goggles onto her face. She paid a few moments to adjust the straps on the back of the goggles, before she was satisfied with the pressure the goggles were on.

Peridot observed her surroundings to get used to the goggles. The whirlwind outside would be nothing but chastising, and the forethought frightened Peridot slightly. 

For some reason, she felt like she was forgetting something very crucial in all of this. She did a double take, roaming her body with her eyes. Oh. Peridot could've smacked herself.

~

After a less than satisfactory seven minutes of trying to find a pair of pants that fit, Peridot agreed on a pair of dark-wash jeans. It made her look ridiculous: an oversized lime jacket paired with her thin, turquoise pants. If anyone actually lived here, Peridot would be completely embarrassed by her choice of apparel. But it was freezing out, and the snow fogged up the air like a pathogen on the verge of epidemic. It would be a guarantee that nobody would be crazy enough to be taking a stroll during this kind of weather.

She mentally prepared herself for the storm ahead. The nerves ate at her body, and she cursed herself for shaking. The front of her door taunted her, almost pushing her to the edge of bailing out: and for a moment, Peridot feels a horror that eats her insides. A voice at the back of her head is screaming at her to not go outside.

But then there was the fiery motivation of her pride. The upmost sections of her mind were cheering her on, a strong sense of dignity that she had never felt before. When boiled down, it stemmed from three things; her pride, her firm belief in herself..

..and the undying, burning passion of needing to see the latest episode of Camp Pining Hearts.

With a steel pride & determination in her eyes, Peridot threw the door of her cabin open.

~

Peridot, without a shadow of a doubt, had severely underestimated the intensity of the storm.

The moment she took the first step outside, the wind savagely tore at her figure. She threw her arm out and took a hold of the front of her porch to avoid falling. Peridot felt the same throbbing in her chest, the same cold terror that ran up her body indoors. The all-too desperate feeling of 'I can't do this.' echoes in her mind. Then she remembers; she is Peridot Facette. A nerd, with buckets of pride in her heart. A gargantuan Camp Pining Hearts fan. The conqueror of Iceland.

With shaking fingers, she pushed off her porch and stepped into the snow. She faced the storm with a burst of determination. Peridot was going to conquer this storm; she was going to fix her antennae, and she was going to finish that episode of Camp Pining Hearts, no matter what it took.

She wobbled in the thick snow, having to wiggle out her arms to avoid falling over. The corner of her cabin never seemed so far away. What felt like an aeon to Peridot passed before she had made it, taking a moment to catch her breath. But as she stopped and looked down to take a breather, something unusual broke the piercing sound of the howling wind. It was something low and deep, and Peridot momentarily wondered if she was about to be mauled by a polar bear.

But just before Peridot could accept the terms of being mauled, an electrifying acknowledgement popped in her head. It was extremely sudden, and in a moment of survival-like intuition, she immediately recognized the solace of the sound.

The sound was a groan. It was another person in the snow, and they were desperately close to dying.

Peridot rounded the corner, and let out a squeak as she almost stepped on a figure in the snow. Her goggles were dusty, but she could make out the unmistakable outline of someone lying face down in the snow. What she wasn't sure of was if they were even moving, or breathing.

All plans of fixing the antennae were abandoned as Peridot clasped onto the figure in the snow, the wind still battering her body & the hail still ravaging her roof.

She grunted as she struggled to lift the person onto her back in the abhorrent weather conditions. There, her mind sat a crossroads. The fiery determination of her pride & the cold terror in the back of her mind were meeting at a high hill, a clash of who would conquer and dominate her mind.

But then, something very rare occurred. An intense point broke out, and somehow Peridot was there. She had held the middle ground, and dominated an emotion that is scarcely ever seen today.

The emotion couldn't be described as happiness or sadness. It was an amalgamation of fear & strength, like an implosion of light and darkness coming together to form a beautiful singular:

 _Courage_.

And with that surge of courage, Peridot made it to the front of her cabin & opened the front door.


	2. The Makeshift Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot attempts to cater for a stranger.

_hos•pi•tal•i•ty_

_noun_

_the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers._

 

Peridot was freaking out. Sort of. 

The moment she kicked the cabin door shut behind her, she felt all the fizzy energy in her body dissipate. Something must have been harvesting Peridot's life force.

She fought to keep her knees from buckling underneath her. She had resorted to trembling, and every step felt like a thousand miles. Peridot was sure that what she was doing was good. So why did it feel like she had just made a major mistake?

Peridot shook her head when she came close to crying. Closer and closer, she inched toward the couch opposite her TV. She would not destroy her pride by crying over trying to carry a _stranger_. Why was she doing this again? Peridot blames the antennae.

When she finally arrived at the foot of her couch, Peridot practically tossed the figure onto the couch; along with herself in the process.

She couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh of relief, to the expense of the part of her mind that thought she was invincible. Peridot could melt into this couch right now.

Then, the gears clicked in her head. Peridot's eyes widened a little. 'Oh. I just did that.' A dumb smile blossomed across her face. 

She was a little too preoccupied with the snowstorm and thoughts about the latest episode of Camp Pining Hearts to fully grasp the consequences of her actions. It was like realizing a piece of foreshadowing earlier in a film, or remembering a crucial step of math during a test. Peridot felt woozy and lightheaded, but she still managed a small 'woo' to the ceiling.

When she came down from her exhaustion, Peridot took a glance at the figure to her left. They had, annoyingly, passed out, but they weren't dead. Normally, Peridot would be rooting for this outcome, but she was instead left with the bitter discomfort of having to wonder: 'Who is this person? Why were they lying face down in the snow, next to my house, during a snowstorm? What kind of buffoon would do such a thing? Why are they so tan? Why are they wearing a-'

Peridot felt the puzzle pieces scatter around in her brain, before coming together to form a complete picture. When it came, Peridot had to remove her goggles and pinch herself to make sure if she was dreaming. She yelped in pain, then rubbed the delicate skin on her arm. Nope, not a dream. Peridot turned her head again, and there, the picture was complete.

It was a she, and they were way too tan to be local. They had hazelnut hair that was coated in icy droplets of snow, and Peridot could make out bluish highlights at the bottom of their hair. They had no gloves and a pair of dress shoes. The only thing keeping this person from turning into a complete popsicle was the gargantuan jacket that shielded their body from neck to ankles, and an oxygen mask.

The oxygen mask & the gigantic jacket completed the puzzle in Peridot's mind. When the pieces fell into place, she felt her mind go numb.

This is a pilot.

Or, mused Peridot, a survivor of a crash that gathered what they could and ventured out to try and find civilization. That would explain the lack of proper headgear and the completely mismatched dress code. She cursed this stranger for being knocked out, because Peridot had too many questions on her mind.

"How did you get here?" Peridot murmured, more to herself than the knocked out visitor lying on the side of the couch. "Was it a plane crash? I probably would've heard about it if it was a big one. Then again, no cable," Peridot pulled her phone out of her pocket, spiteful of the symbol on the top-left. "..and no signal."

Peridot heaved a big sigh, before slumping back into the couch. She averted her gaze from the ceiling to the stranger lying next to her. 

Peridot slipped off her gloves and, with meticulous delicacy, touched the side of their face with her hand. Peridot recoiled when it nearly froze her finger to the touch.

She needed to get this person warm. Now.

Peridot jolted up from the couch, instantly got a headache, and then immediately decided she should do a little less jolting. Rubbing her head, she marched over to her fireplace and inspected her stock of wood. Three logs sat to the left of the fizzed-out fireplace.

Using the amazing tool of Peridots mind called 'guesstimation', she'd deducted a verdict: All three of these logs combined would burn to an upwards of nine hours. It was barely enough for a full nights sleep, but Peridot shrugged in mere mild exasperation. It would have to do.

~ 

It took near seven minutes to get that fire burning. Peridot was not exactly on the patient side of things, either. She almost tossed the lighter into the fireplace and called it quits more times than she'd care to admit. What can she say? She blames it on being tired. 

When an entire log was finally enveloped in flame, Peridot threw a small parade in her victory. The long part was over, now it's time for the hard part. 

Peridot laid a towel out in front of the fireplace, accompanied by one of her pillows she didn't need to sleep with. She pondered sacrificing her bed blanket, but she pushed away the thought almost immediately. Peridot needed good sleep tonight. This chain of events would certainly be alarming in the morning. 

"Okay, you absolute gargantuan," Peridot spoke to the dead-asleep figure on her coach. "I'm going to be moving you now. Don't get any funny ideas." She made her way to the front of the couch.

Truth is, Peridot is pretty short. She was annoyingly only two inches from being five-foot-zero, and is usually towered over by the locals in her city. This stranger had to be at least a foot taller than her, which, to Peridot, is gigantic. And inconvenient.

Peridot resorted to half-dragging them, half-carrying them. She lifted them up from behind, hooking her hands underneath their arms. It turned out to be much easier than she expected, the dragging only made it all the more simpler. Peridot stole a few glances to see if they woke up from the movement; nothing. She pulled them across her floorboards, then rolled them onto the makeshift blanket and pillow that Peridot had set up. 

With the flame of the fireplace, the strangers' features were illuminated in a much brighter contrast; exposing the intricate linings of their facial features. It would be a serene scene, had the context of the scenario not been this dire.

Peridot also took advantage of the moment by warming up next to the fireplace. Her head was woozy, and she felt weightless. Peridot laid onto her back, stared at the ceiling, and tried to comprehend everything that unfolded within the past two hours. Despite the fact that she felt her body fall into the crevices of sleep, Peridot did nothing to stop it. She drifted off into the limelight, before letting the darkness of unconsciousness consume her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the pleasant comments on the first chapter. Hopefully this one caters, though most of it was done through my iPad at around 2 AM. I figured out Rich Text >>>>> HTML, and edited this twice for the end notes + spacing. Thank you for reading. 
> 
> -Caden


	3. The Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot wakes up.

_dis·com·bob·u·late_

_verb_

_disconcert or confuse (someone)_

 

Peridot's eyes fluttered open. Her first instinct was to turn over in her bed, check her phone, and go back to sleep. However, something strange was restricting her from doing that. A blurry, swirly amalgamation of color was shaking her shoulders. Peridot felt disoriented. She didn't remember letting the Blob into her house. Peridot also didn't remember her bed feeling this damp and hard. Maybe it was a side-effect of not getting enough sleep.

Except, the Blob was now saying something to her. _". . up, da- . . . get u- . . ."_

Huh. For a monster, Peridot thought, the Blob had a strangely monotone, enchanting voice. It was also laced with femininity, and desperateness. Peridot felt that same urge to turn over and try to go back to sleep.

Then, like she had been hit by a bullet-train, Peridot remembered. The first thing she remembered was the immeasurable disappointment; she remembers throwing her remote and marching outside. The desperate feeling of needing to know was sewn into there, which was now bubbling to Peridot's surface.

She remembers hearing an animalistic groan, followed by her carrying something. Something that had to do with aviation, or whatever. Maybe something about the Air Force? Is that what this was? Was Peridot being shaken awake because her domicile was being bombed?

No, that was absurd. Of all the places to attack, why _Iceland_? Why, of all places in _Iceland_ , would the Air Force bomb her next-to-isolated town? Peridot wondered what the Prime Minister would've had to say to piss off the President so much. These days, it probably wouldn't take much.

It finally clicked. The words became clear now, and Peridots eyes shot open. The stranger woke up, and they had been desperately trying to get Peridot to awaken. When Peridot sat up in stunned silence, she heard her new visitor give a sigh of relief. Peridot rubbed her eyes, then groaned in exasperation.

"Thank fucking Christ, you're awake." The stranger stared at the ceiling absentmindedly. "I don't know where I am, or who you are, and.. I really need to get outta here. God, do you even speak English?" Despite Peridot being the only other presence in the room, it felt like they were talking to nobody in particular. It was more like they were trying to talk themselves down from a panic. Peridot felt an odd tinge of sympathy for this stranger.

"Ahem." Her new visitor flinched, before turning around to face Peridot. Peridot stood to attention, and cleared her throat.

"I speak English fine." Peridot enunciated. "I want to answer all of your questions, but I don't want to freak you out by collapsing everything onto you at once." She crossed her arms, as if studying her visitor. "I also have some questions I would like to ask you."

The stranger stiffened, and Peridot decided to lower her tone monumentally. "Uhm, but first.. let me make breakfast."

Peridot half-turned away from them, before quickly turning back around. "Oh yeah, uh.." Peridot's eyes drooped down to her less than impressive makeshift bed. "..feel free to move your stuff to the couch, I guess. Just don't hog up the whole thing."

Peridot marched to the kitchen. She snatched her glasses off the counter and placed them onto her face, finally relieved of her blurry vision. Peridot uttered a billion thanks to whatever God had kept her same pair of glasses safe for more than four years now. It's already a pain to even find an optometrist where she lives, let alone break a pair of expensive spectacles.

Peridot broke out two solo cups and filled both of them with lukewarm water. She ripped open a pack of stroopwafels and hesitantly placed two unto corresponding paper plates. Peridot could've eaten fifteen of those damn stroopwafels, if it had come to it. Why did they have to be so annoyingly good?

Peridot rounded back to the couch with two cups of moderately warm water, only to find her new visitor laying on the couch.. watching Camp Pining Hearts.

"Wh- you got the TV to work!?" Peridot's voice jumped an octave.

The stranger looked unfazed. "I suppose."

Peridot eyed them suspiciously. "How on Earth did you manage to fix my broken antennae, and restore power to my television?"

"I- give me that," They snatched a cup from Peridot's hands, gulping it down in one massive swig. Peridot tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"

When they finished, they wiped their mouth on their sleeve and looked Peridot in the eye. "I unplugged the TV. Then, I waited ten seconds. Finally, I plugged it back in."

Peridot went deaf. "Are.. are you serious?"

They shrugged, then went back to watching Camp Pining Hearts.

Peridot could've smacked herself. Okay, maybe immediately blaming your TV problems on your antennae then marching out into a snowstorm outside instead of patiently checking the wires in the back like a normal human being was a mistake. Maybe Peridot could've put some thought into the precarious scenario before getting herself into it.

Peridot tried to kill the tension by focusing on this stranger. "You watch CPH?"

"Hell yes." Their eyes seemed to be glued to the television, like something really interesting was happening. Peridot wondered what season they were on. She glanced at the TV.

_"Pierre.. Without you, we would've never won that competi-"_

Peridot let out a shrill squeak. "That's the latest episode!" She picked up the remote from the arm of the couch & paused it. The stranger let out a groan.

"Did you _really_ have to do that?" They glared daggers at Peridot.

Peridot swallowed a lump in her throat. "Sorry, I.. I haven't gotten the opportunity to watch it yet. I'll unpause it, just.. give me a sec."

Peridot practically sprinted over to her kitchen counter. She nearly busted her butt when she slipped on a damp piece of floor, but she caught herself by clinging onto the counter. Peridot picked up the two plates in her left hand and ran back to the couch; one hand with a cup of water, the other with breakfast.

The blonde motioned for the other to make room. They negligently obliged, pulling their legs back a little. Peridot carefully placed her cup on the floor to her left, and she handed a plate of stroopwafels to her visitor.

"Have you ever had these?" Peridot questioned, crunching into her own stroopwafel. The stranger shook their head. "Oh my stars, you're missing out. Please, try it." 

They shrugged, before taking a bite. Peridot wished she could capture their moment of bliss on camera. Instead, she stored in her mental hard-drive, where Peridot could probably remember it more fondly. Peridot felt elated at introducing this stranger to the joy of creation that is the stroopwafel.

With another satisfying bite of caramel-infused goodness, Peridot resumed the latest episode of Camp Pining Hearts.

~

"Are. You. Kidding. Me!"

Peridot could kill someone right now. She definitively held the power to end someones entire existence within the fabric of a microsecond, if she so desired. However, murder is pretty expensive to cover up. It's also pretty expensive if you get caught, too. So Peridot resorted to stomping around the cabin, pulling at her hair.

Her visitor, however, seemed to find it amusing. "Not a fan of this episode?" They shot Peridot a shit-eating grin.

Peridot felt like strangling them. "I don't know, what does it look like!?" That's it, the spark that lit the fuse. Peridot was in full rant mode. "First of all, Pierre and Percy get this close to literally making out. Then, Paulette, the absolute demon, not only interrupts their moment, but kisses Percy on camera just to give us the finger! After five episodes of character building, all we get is a tease!?" Peridot viciously fore at her head. "Then- just to spit in our faces, they make this the final episode of this marathon, leaving us on a complete cliffhanger. This fucking show, I-"

Peridot didn't realize she was hyperventilating until her visitor grabbed her by the wrist. Peridot visibly recoiled, before sinking into the couch. She let out a sigh of frustration. Her visitor looked at her with delicate eyes, like Peridot was made of wet tissue paper. Peridot notices the fine details of their face, emphasized by her glasses and the limelight the television is bringing in. She buried her face into her hands, then slumped her arms by her side and stared at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry." Peridot is surprised that those words aren't coming out of her mouth. She looks back down to see her visitor in a sorrow flush.

Peridot shakes her head. "Nonono, don't be. That was-"

"I'm sorry that I got stuck in your house." Peridot gulped. Oh, so that's where this was going.

"I- god.." They struggled to find the right words. "I make a ruckus of your place, I pissed you off, and I kinda shook you the fuck awake. All you've been is kind to me, and yet I haven't even thought of asking you your name." Peridots face dropped. "I.." They paused. "I don't want to be a burden on you."

The stranger played with the cuff of their jacket, not bothering to look Peridot in the eye. A pregnant silence filled the air, apart from the buzz of the television and a slight breeze outside. Peridot opened her mouth, then closed it. Shit. What does she say?

"Peridot." Her visitors eyes shot up, and Peridot watched the waves of confusion wash over their face. "What?"

"My n-name," She stammered, "is Peridot Facette."

Peridot braced herself for impact. Despite themselves, however, a dumb smirk broke out among her visitors face. "No way."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" It was now Peridots turn to be confused. This only primed her visitor to break into snort-giggles, leaving Peridot in a discombobulated flush. Peridot was mystified.

"I'm sorry, um," Her visitor came down from her giggles, reserving to a minuscule smile. They cleared their throat. "My name's Lapis. As in, Lapis Lazuli."

Peridot, despite herself, smiled. "How is that even possible?"

They gave a shrug.

"So, Lazuli," Peridot proclaimed, ".. where are you from?"

A flicker of melancholy danced across Lapis' eyes, and Peridot immediately felt a singe of regret. Yikes. Peridot shouldn't have brought up her home so soon.

"I'm from the United States. New York, to be exact." Lapis' articulation was palpable, that of a pane of glass; transparent and willing to shatter with enough force. Peridot felt a touch of empathy. Lapis stared off into space, before brushing off the topic and meeting Peridots eyes.

"I need to ask you a question now." Peridot looked surprised Lapis was even acknowledging her, before nodding once. "I'm all ears." Peridot unconsciously moved closer to Lapis, their faces inches away from each other.

Lapis’ eyes flickered with that same icy sorrow, before dissolving into a squint. ".. Where am I?"

Oh boy. Peridot had expected this question, but never thought about trying to answer it. “Um- well..”

Lapis cocked an eyebrow. “Well?”

“Well, uh,” Peridot cleared her throat, “To put it simply, I guess,” Peridot braced herself for impact.

“..you’re in Iceland.” Peridot witnessed Lapis’ body go stiff, and her breathing started to skip three beats at a time.

“Lazuli, are you okay?” Peridot reached out and softly, but firmly, gripped Lapis’ shoulder. Lapis shook her head, before staring down at the couch. Then, like a scene out of a horror movie, Peridot heard a sniffle.

“It’s, uhm-“ Lapis’ voice cracked at the last syllable. Oh no. “It’s a lot to t-take i-in..” There it was. Peridot was quick on her feet, because the moment Lapis had crumbled, she had pulled her into a soul-crushing embrace. Peridots heart fell when she felt desperate sobs pouring into her shoulder, and she was left to stroking Lapis’ hair and whispering nothings to try and calm her down.

Lapis, meanwhile, was cursing herself for sobbing into a strangers shoulder. The back of her mind screamed at her for the ordeal. But more than anything, her thoughts were plagued with a single concept, one now so endearingly close to her, yet so geographically far:

 _Home_.

Lapis lived in the moment, racking sobs into Peridots shoulder and probably ruining her T-shirt in the process. Above all else, Peridot only lived to comfort her at that moment. “Lazuli, it will be okay..” She focused on Peridots words like she was dying, until eventually her sobs dissipated to a manageable size. Lapis hiccuped into Peridots shoulder, her left hand hooked onto her left shoulder and her right hand around her back. Damnit. How did this woman manage to take advantage of her so easily?

The back of Lapis’ mind brought unbridled fury at the thought of the scenario. But when Peridot pulled away from the hug to cup Lapis’ face in her hands, she felt something completely different. Trust.

“Lazuli.” Peridot enunciated. Lapis’ eyes turned to meet her own. Lapis looked like a ghost; her eyes were surrounded by dim low circles, prevalent underneath the eyes. Her pupils had become bloodshot from crying. If Peridot didn’t know better, she’d think she had stumbled upon a dead person.

“Lazuli, I want you to know that..” Peridot thought about her next words carefully. “I know this is a really bad situation. Everything has happened so fast, I don’t even know where to begin. But, I..” Peridot struggled to find her words. “.. I want to.. make things right, if that’s okay with you.” She decided it was a half-decent choice of words. Peridot looked back into Lapis’ eyes. They stayed like that for what felt like five minutes (but was probably twenty seconds).

Finally, Lapis looked down and pushed Peridots hand away. She let out another small sniffle, and Peridot sat on her knees, awaiting the next move.

It happened in a flash. At least, that’s what Peridots mind processed. Because one moment, she was on her knees, ready for something to happen. Then the next, she was in a bone crunching embrace. Peridot was slightly taken aback at first, before she eventually melted into Lapis’ touch.

The moment was highly serene. It was one of trust, yet one filled with unmistakeable thanks. “Peridot,” Lapis muttered into her shirt, “thank you for that.”

Peridot didn’t know what to say. She wrapped her arms around Lapis’ back and, to her surprise, felt tears sting her eyes. “Oh no.”

Lapis looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, I..” Peridot felt a tear slide down her cheek. Shit. “I don’t usually do this.”

“What, crying?” Lapis smiled.

“No, I mean, like..” Peridot swiped at her own tears. “I haven’t cried in like, a millennia. Jesus.”Peridot let out an odd chuckle. She felt insane. “I guess I just forgot how.. overwhelming it can be.”

Peridot stared at nothing in particular, before setting her eyes back on Lapis. “Here’s my final question.” Lapis’ eyes perked up, and she exhaustingly awaited what Peridot had to ask. “Fire away.”

“Do you wanna go out for dinner?” Peridot wondered.

Lapis thought about it. She shot a look outside, then to Peridot. “Is it still..”

Peridot shook her head. “No. Weathers fine now.”

Hmm. A trip to a foreign bistro for dinner wouldn’t be bad, would it? It wouldn’t be terrible at all, Lapis decided. With a lazy smile and finger guns, Lapis nodded. “Alright, polar woman,” she snarked, “show me to your food.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the outpouring support on this story. I worked pretty hard on this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. This got edited twice cause I found some typos + spacing issues.


	4. Dining with a Ghost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Lapis go to dinner.

_head·way_

_noun_  

_move forward or make progress, **especially** when circumstances make this slow or difficult._

 

~

 

Peridot pushed the front door of her cabin open, peering outside. "Whoa."

"'Whoa?' Like, woah as in bad, or whoa as in good?" Lapis clamped down on Peridot to get a view, squishing her hair in the process. 

"Wh- get off of me!" 

"No." Lapis squinted. 

Peridot shook her off, then gave Lapis a disapproving glare. "It's _fine_ outside, if you're wondering," Peridot made sure to throw all her mock annoyance into the word. "You know you can rely on something other than vaulting the top of my head to get a weather report, right?" 

Lapis snickered. "Nah, I like the view from up there. Much better than some old-timer pointing at slides at 4 P.M."

"You're a sadist, Lazuli." Peridot pouted. 

Lapis shot her finger guns. "Get used to it, dork." 

Peridot grumbled, then shoved the cabin door open. She took a few steps outside, giving her some time to adapt to this cold. Peridot was about to make haste to her vehicle, when she realized something. Lapis wasn't following her. 

Peridot turned her head, and saw a shaking Lapis Lazuli hanging onto the side of her door. Odd, because Lapis was more clothed than Peridot was. But there she was,staring at the ground in front of her like she was about to jump into a lake of freezing water. 

"Lazuli? Are you okay?" Peridot asked.

Lapis took a shaky breath, then nodded. "Yeah. I'm just.." 

It clicked in Peridot's head. Oh, yeah. She's still sorta shell-shocked. 

"It's okay if you don't wanna head outside yet," Peridot affirmed. "I can pick up some food & you can stay at my cabin."

That had her thinking. "No, I.." Lapis swallowed a lump in her throat. "I want to do this."

Peridot threw up her eyebrows a little. "You sure? You don't have to, if you're uncomfortable. Are you?"

Lapis inhaled sharply, then shook her head. "I'm good- don't worry about it." Lapis wrapped her fingers around her arms and took her first wobbly step outside of Peridot's cabin. Then, another. Peridot spectated the entire ordeal until, alas, Lapis had shuffled her way next to Peridot. 

With a dumb grin on her face, Lapis raised a small fist in the air. "Told ya I could do it, nerd." 

"Nerd?" Peridot cried in mock hurt. "Here I was, thinking the stranger I carried into my domicile would some _common_ _courtesy_ -" 

Lapis giggled, then poked Peridot's cheek, effectively ending her tirade. "Shuddit. Let me have my moment." 

Peridot rolled her eyes. She pulled out her car keys and clicked the electronic 'unlock' button to her 2017 Toyota Land Cruiser. With a mighty swing, Peridot threw the door open to her SUV. Lapis plopped in the seat next to her, fiddling with the levers next to her seat until she found the lever that put her seat back and pulled it back all the way. Peridot closed her door. 

Peridot turned the keys in the ignition, the engine coming to life. She clicked on her seatbelt and, to both Lapis & Peridots relief, turned on the A/C. The air was chilly at first, and for a split second, Peridot regretted turning it on at all. But within a matter of seconds, it had defrosted into a lovely warm steam, practically melting Peridot into her seat. 

Lapis looked just as grateful. She slammed her door shut likewise and adjusted the slide on her car seat, while Peridot was placing the car into drive. But before they could go anywhere, Peridot shifted the car back into neutral and applied the parking brake. She eyed Lapis suspiciously.

Lapis looked back at her dumbfounded. "What?" 

Peridots eyes darted down, traveling from Lapis' stomach to her eyes. She thought Lapis would've taken the hint and already known what Peridot was trying to imply, yet Lapis still looked at Peridot with the same bedazzled stare. Peridot uncomfortably cleared her throat. 

".. Your seatbelt." 

The gears started to turn in Lapis' head, before she suddenly broke into a feverish crimson. "Oh, that's what you meant."

It was Peridots turn to be confused. "What else could I have possibly-" Peridots eyes widened. Oh. _Oh._

"Oh!" Peridot enunciated to both Lapis and nobody at the same time. She flushed a treacherous magenta. "N-no, I wasn't-" Peridots train of thought was interrupted by Lapis giggling. The giggle turned into a heaving laugh, and Peridots embarrassment turned into irritation. "You're laughing at me!” 

Lapis covered her face with her fingers. "No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you _are!_ ” Peridot moved to untangle her fingers from her face. "Confess, criminal scum!" 

Lapis' fingers trailed off her own, and met Peridot's face with light slapping. Peridot retaliated with a series of slaps herself, eventually devolving into the two struggling in what was essentially a kitty fight. This also gave Peridot time to simultaneously wonder; what was happening? Were they really.. bonding? She'd known this stranger for all of about two hours. Peridot decided to leave that thought in the back of her had for later. 

They smacked at eachother's arms for a good minute, before Lapis eventually sunk back into her chair, Peridot hovering over her and snickering in victory.

"Had enough, criminal?" Peridot interrogated. 

"I'd love to confess, sheriff," Lapis answered. "But I can't exactly focus on an empty stomach."

Peridot also noticed the void in her stomach, and decided to call it quits for the sake of her own sustenance. "Truce?" She extended her pinky to Lapis. 

"Truce." Lapis shook pinkies with Peridot, watching as she sunk back into her seat and stared forward with both hands on the wheel. 

"You still need to put your seatbelt on."

Lapis chortled. "Lame."

"There's nothing 'lame' about seatbelt safety." Peridot enunciated.

"You're lame." Lapis shot at her. 

Peridot rolled her eyes. "Heart of ice, Lazuli."

Lapis snickered and pulled her seatbelt around her waist, pushing it into the buckle with a satisfying 'click'. "Happy now?"

"Effervescent."

Peridot dropped the transmission into drive. 

~ 

"Are we there yet?"

"It's been seven minutes, Lazuli." Peridot replied. 

Lapis responded by groaning into her seat, which had been pushed back so far that it had qualified as a bed. "Seven minutes is forever," she sighed. "Especially if you can't roll down the windows and your radio is filled with hot garbage." 

"I have an aux cable. You could've just asked." Peridot assured. 

Lapis shot her a look. "Using what phone, genius?"

"You could use mine." Peridot tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, not having to focus too hard since she was driving on a straight road. 

"And listen to your probably dork playlist? No thanks," Lapis turned onto her back. "I'd rather listen to Evanescence for the rest of my life." 

"I have good music taste!" Peridot shot back. "Here, gimme a second." She waited until she came to a complete stop at a traffic light before pulling out her phone and hooking it up to her cars auxiliary port. Peridot fiddled with the Spotify interface for a second, groaning at the innumerable amounts of ads clogging up her screen. Finally, an upbeat alternative-indie song kicked to life from the speakers of the car. Peridot threw a mini parade in her honor, with herself as both the conductor & the only attendee. 

“ _I know there’s no form,_

_And no labels to put on_

_To this thing we keep_

_And dip into when we need.”_  

Oddly, Lapis found herself tapping to the beat. "What song is this?" 

"Genghis Khan by Miike Snow," Peridot replied enthusiastically. "The music video is a national treasure. I'll show it to you later." 

Peridot hummed the second part of the first verse, bobbing her head from side to side. She was mainly focused on the road, but when that chorus came Peridot couldn't resist singing along. 

" _And I get a little bit Genghis Khan,_

_Don't want you to get it on with nobody else but me,_

_With nobody else but me!_

_Yeah, I get a little bit Genghis Khan,_

_Don't want you to get it on with nobody else but me,_

_With nobody else but me!"_

Peridot finished the chorus enthusiastically, stepping on the gas pedal when the light finally turned green. She still shook her head to the beat, and Peridot borrowed the moment to glance at her passenger. Lapis had a dumb smile on her face, and was tapping alongside her thigh to the rhythm of the song. 

Peridot smirked. "What was that about having a poor taste in music?" 

"I didn't say you had bad taste in music," Lapis hummed. "You're just a dork." 

"Whatever. That's still a victory in my department." Peridot emphasized, pulling into the parking lot of an average-sized café. 

Lapis' eyes went wide. "We're finally here?"

Peridot sighed. "No; I'm only parking here to tantalize you." She turned her head to look outside the back window, catching a glimpse of Lapis' figure. 

Lapis looked like a child about to go on a rollercoaster; nervous, yet jubilant. Peridot had to chuckle at her demeanor. "What's gotten into you? Excited?"

"More than ever." Lapis affirmed, as Peridot rolled the car into the spot and applied the parking brake.  Strangely, Peridot felt a sense of euphoria bringing Lapis here. It felt like bringing your child to Disney World, or looking at their face while they watch a rocket launch. It also made Peridot much more eager to share her culture with Lapis. Maybe they can even compare and contrast the differences between Iceland & the United States. Peridot felt elated at the thought. 

"What do you guys eat here? Do you really have fish for breakfast?" Lapis said. 

Peridot rolled her eyes, all of her dreams about sharing her culture with Lapis crumbling in the process. "Yes; we also sleep in uncomfortably oversized jackets and pay biweekly trips to visit the Abominable Snowman." She bit, slipping off her seat-belt and pushing open her door. 

"Wouldn't doubt it for a minute." Lapis remarked, already out of the car and shoving her door closed. Peridot shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket and, to her surprise, felt an odd warmth in her chest. The day had started off considerably well. She expected much more catastrophe, yet.. this had been going very smoothly, all things considered. Peridot considered her previous attempts at talking to people. They usually ended in her apologizing and walking away, or at worst running away from the person she engaged conversation with. Maybe this means she's getting better at talking? No, that can't be it, Peridot thinks. This is.. different. This is forced dialogue with a complete stranger that Peridot is stuck with. She shouldn't be better at conversations now. But why did Peridot feel so comfortable around.. _her? Around Lapis?_  

"So," Lapis' voice broke Peridots thoughts, cutting her back into reality as they walked across the parking lot.

"So?" Peridot looked up at Lapis, awaiting her next words.

"Why are we going to a cafe.. for dinner?"

Peridot shrugged. "Why not?" She purposefully avoided answering the question to avoid blurting out the fact that she was half awake while driving here. Lapis raised an eyebrow place before dropping the topic and moving on. "What's the best thing to eat around here, then?"

"Hm," Peridot contemplated the cuisine of her homeland or, more specifically, this restaurant.  "Depends. What's your favorite 'Its 1 AM and I am staying up late' snack?" 

"Chocolate. Especially mint. " Lapis instantaneously replied, making Peridot blink in surprise. She wasn't expecting an immediate answer. "Uh, alright.." Peridot scratched the back of her head, racking her brain for ideas. Shoot. Maybe isn't wasn't a fantastic idea to ask a foreigner what they were used to eating back home, particularly if their home has a completely different climate & standard for cuisine. Iceland wasn't exactly Belgium when it came to chocolate, _but.._  

A figurative light bulb brightened over Peridot's head. "Oh! We've got something like that," Peridot said, to Lapis' delight. "Hopefully they have it here. Don't get too excited yet." With that, Peridot slid open the door to her favorite café. 

Peridot and Lapis stepped in, both basking in the feeling of this destination. Even with the lights, the place still held a dim atmosphere to it. The walls were smothered in wood, curtly tucked away beneath the mountains of arabica plant paintings and disheveled bookshelves. To an outsider, say like Lapis, it was your everyday average coffee joint. But to Peridot, it felt like home.

The empty line invited Peridot to walk up to the counter, smiling when she saw who was working today.

"Hey, Peri!" The ecstatic blonde spoke in a balance between low and high tone, her shirt plastered with the cafe's logo.

"Hello, Sadie!" Peridot waved, to the others delight. Sadie gave Peridot a cumbersome smile, then tilted her head at Peridot's accomplice. "Who's your new friend?" Sadie asked, to Peridot's dismay. "Oh. She's, uh-"

"I'm a tourist visiting Iceland," Lapis replied, saving Peridot's failure of words. She eyed Lapis conspicuously, hoping she didn't go overboard with this. "I got lost and Peridot gave me a place to stay overnight." 

"Oh, that's so cool!" Sadie replied, placing her hands on the counter. "American, right?" She leaned forward onto the counter, like she was trying to study this alien entity that had barged into her domicile. Lapis nodded, giving a reluctant smile. Sadie eyed Lapis suspiciously for a moment. 

"So.." Sadie dropped her suspicious facade. “What would you like to order?”

Peridot heaved a sigh of relief, masking it by pretending to observe the menu. Realistically, Peridot was more-so observing Lapis. Peridot knew what she wanted, but also wanted to allocate time to letting Lapis decide. Cuisine here could get a bit confusing. 

"I'll have a large white mocha coffee. Hot, please." Peridot enunciated, as Sadie jotted her order down on the register. Lapis gave a small 'hmm', eyeing Sadie like she had a question in her mind. 

"Do you know how to make a colada?" Lapis asked, to Peridot's confusion. 'Colada? Isn't that alcohol?', she thought. But Sadie perked her eyes up, then gave a small grin. "Yes! Cuban expresso, right?" Sadie asked. Lapis nodded, a smile blooming on her face. "Right."

"Anything to eat?" Sadie asked, averting her gaze to Peridot. 

Peridot was surprised she wasn't considering food until now. "Hmm.. an almond croissant, and- oh, Lazuli, you're gonna love this," Lapis stared at Peridot with a befuddled yet bemused grin. "A bar of mint Nóí Siríus & a chocolate croissant for my comrade." 

Confusion visibly scrambled across Lapis' face, however her expression danced when she heard Peridot order a chocolate croissant. How did this woman manage to read her mind? Sadie rushed to get their drinks and food prepared, leaving Peridot and Lapis to bask in the dim lighting of this next to empty coffee joint. 

"Question." Peridot blurted out, gripping Lapis' attention. "Yeah?"

Peridot turned to Lapis. "What's a colada?" 

"Oh! It's like a cuban-style expresso, but served in a Styrofoam cup along with small, tinier cups," Lapis' face had giddy ridden in her features, but she refused to let it all out. "I was introduced to it by a.. colleague. It's crazy good, especially if you need to stay up for the next twenty-six hours." 

Amused, Peridot turned to look at the cafe's display case. It sat in solemn silence, filled with croissants and sugar infused junk food heated under a lamp. No doubt meant for appeasing to children. 

Peridot ran her hand across the counter, the familiar sensation of damp hardwood crossing over her fingers. She gave a satisfied breath of air, taking a moment to enjoy this occasion. That lovely feeling of serenity crossed her mind again, but this time in somewhat of a different tone: Harmony.

"Hey, Peridot." Lapis' voice snapped Peridot out of her trance. "Yeah?" Peridot rubbed her eyes, willing herself to focus on Lapis. "What's up?"

"..What's a, uh.." Lapis' words fell down a flight of stairs. 

Peridot stared at her intensively. "What?" Her eyes shifted from befuddled to understanding. "Oh! Nóí Siríus is a chocolate factory in Iceland- I think the oldest one. And let me tell you," Peridot put her hands out for emphasis, "..they got BOMB ass chocolate." Peridot folded her arms back together, focusing back on Lapis' stare. "I got you mint chocolate, 'cause you said you li-" 

Peridot was pulled into a giant hug, effectively cutting off her oxygen supply and her incessant ramblings. She hesitated at first, before nervously wrapping her hands around Lapis' arms. Peridot felt the sharp contrast between her and Lapis' body temperature. Peridot had managed to stay relatively warm, but Lapis was cold to the touch. Had this been anywhere but public, Peridot would've melted into her arms.

After what somehow felt both like a millennia and a picosecond of this embrace, Peridot managed to squeak out her name. "..Lazuli?"

Lapis pulled away, but kept a grip on Peridots shoulders. She stared at Peridot with a glassy look of temperance, something Peridot could do nothing but stare back at. Lapis didn't say anything at first, but her eyes spoke everything that she wanted to say: 

" _Thank you, Peridot_."

Peridot stared back at Lapis like she was the only thing left in the room. "..for what?"

"For what?" Lapis chuckles dryly. "For doing all this. I mean it. You-" She paused, trying to compose her thoughts and transpose them into an understandable piece. Lapis took a deep breath. "You've done too much for me." 

Peridot stared at her, dumbfounded, before she found her tongue again. "What? Lazuli, no- please don't say you don't deserve this, because you do. Anyone would've done what I did."

Lapis shook her head. "Nobody would've done what you've done for me. Not to this extent." 

Peridot paused. Okay, that was pretty plausible. But she still felt mystified at Lapis' choice of words.

"..why do you think you don't deserve any of this?" 

Peridot wished she could tuck those words back into her brain, or at least have kept them for later, because there in Lapis' eyes arrived that glint again. That ephemeral, glossy flicker that danced across her eyes, ending as Lapis seemed to take her eyes off Peridot and stare into the cumbersome void of space. In that look laid a somber remembrance, something that resembled a pit of emptiness in ones heart.

It made Peridot immensely empathetic to look at it. 

Lapis averted her gaze to the ground, her hands balled into fists. "Peridot, I-" 

"Peridot? Lapis?"

Peridot snapped her stare to the counter, where a concerned Sadie held a biodegradable 4-cup holder with Peridot and Lapis' coffee in one hand, and two paper bags with their food in the other. 

A thick silence filled the air.

Lapis had also changed her gaze from the floor to Sadie. The restaurant made no sound, apart from the distant sound of the air conditioning. In her mind, Peridot silently confirmed: this had been the quietest, and probably most awkward moment in her life.

The silence was broken by Sadie, who cleared her throat accordingly. "Your food is done, total is 2321kr."

Peridot pulled her wallet out from her pocket and fished out a five-thousand kronur banknote, sliding it across the counter. Sadie rang up the register, and handed Peridot the left over 2679kr. Peridot dropped the change into her wallet, picked up the cup holder, and motioned to Lapis to do the same with the food.

Lapis looked down at Peridot as she snatched the bag off the counter. "Can we talk about this later?" 

"Sure." Peridot said, almost too quickly. They both shuffled away from the strange exchange and out the door, leaving Sadie in concerned bewilderment.

~ 

The car ride home was painstakingly silent. 

Peridot didn't even turn the radio on, opting to instead focus on the road ahead. The only sound occasionally emitted (apart from the A/C) was from Lapis taking a sip of coffee. Both Peridot and Lapis refused to touch their food, despite the dire state their hunger was at. The predicament they had put themselves in completely ruined their appetite. Lapis didn't even pull back her chair. 

After an eternity of radio silence, Peridot felt compelled to do something. Say something. Her mind was screaming at her in bold to apologize. 

Peridot takes a left. 

Why did this always happen? Peridot remembers her past engagements and, to her dismay, she grips the steering wheel a little harder in frustration.

Peridot breaks off on the intersection. 

It always ended in Peridot and the other person breaking it off after something she did. Why was she so abysmal at holding conversations without delving into someone's personal life? 

Peridot sees a green light straight ahead, about a hundred or so meters away.

When did she become so.. awkward? Had Peridot always been like this? She wants to tear her hair out, rip apart her favorite shirt and stomp it to the ground. It was extremely frustrating and it made Peridot immensely uncomfortable to be in this car, with this person, at this moment.

Fifty meters away, the light turns yellow.

Without much thinking, Peridot jams on the gas pedal as hard as she can. The SUV lurches forward, shooting from 35 miles-per-hour to 65. Lapis has to grab onto her seat to avoid slamming her head into the dashboard, clinging on for dear life as her escort guns it down a residential area. 

"Peridot, slow down!" She yells, to practically no avail. Lapis watches as Peridot pushes on the brakes and cuts a sharp right, sending the SUV skirting around a stop sign and nearly colliding into a tree. Her face showed solitary; expressionless, as if void of what made her human. All Lapis could do was spectate in horror, and pray to God that she would make it out. 

The SUV came tantalizingly close to hitting at least five mailboxes, as well as running off the road more than once. When it finally came hurtling at a familiar cabin's driveway at forty-eight miles-per-hour, Peridot slammed on the brakes and gripped the steering wheel for her life.

The car screamed to a stop, coming terrifying close to hitting the house. To Peridots surprise, she had been mostly undamaged and didn't hit her head on the steering wheel when she came to a stop.

Lapis, however, was not so lucky. 

Lapis' head collided with the dashboard upon the sudden de-acceleration, just a few inches too high for the airbag to deploy. An audible _THUNK_ sounded as her head came rolling to the side of the dashboard.

At first, there was nothing done. A sick, twisted silence filled the near wreckage for more than ten seconds.

And then.. 

**_Panic._ **

**_Like a bullet train falling off its tracks, or a plane that can’t pull up in time. Complete, unadulterated panic._ ** 

" _Oh, shit!_ " Peridot made haste to unbuckle her seatbelt, tossing it to the side faster than the snap of a finger. In an instant she was at Lapis' side, with shaking fingers and a quivering lip. "L-Lapis, are you okay?" She sputtered out, her voice high pitched and crazy. What was she talking about? **'Of course she's not okay, she's knocked the fuck out. Great thinking, idiot.** ' When she got no reply, Peridot initially presumed that she had just killed Lapis Lazuli. She raced to place her hand over her mouth, the small sliver of hope still curled inside the back of her brain. 

Still breathing. 

Peridot whooshed an actual sigh of relief, still hyperventilating from the sudden rush of adrenaline. However, her celebration was immediately postponed when Peridot realized in horror that Lapis was _bleeding_. A thick rope of blood travelled down the side of Lapis' head, until it dropped down the bottom of her chin. It made its mark on Peridots passenger glove compartment, alongside her car seat.

"Fuck," Peridot whispered. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!" She punched the side of her steering wheel, then pulled out the keys to her car and threw open her door. When she got out, Peridot practically catapulted the door shut, trembling in trepidation and fury. Peridot rounded the front of her car almost instantaneously, the deja vú of her antennae incident running back to catch up with her. Except this didn't have coupled pride or self belief thrown into the mix; Peridot has just fucked up. Really, really bad. 

Shaking with unbridled emotion, Peridot slammed open the passenger side door of her SUV, nearly throwing the car door off its hinges. Lapis sat in the front, unconscious from blunt force trauma and bleeding from what was most likely a  skull fracture. At this angle, Peridot couldn't see the side of her head that was bleeding profusely, and it made Lois looked oddly serene.

Peridot moved in. She unbuckled Lapis' seatbelt, not bothering to pick up her phone and call an emergency number. Peridot would rather not go to jail for the rest of her entire life. 

~

In a jittery state of leftover adrenaline, the next few minutes felt like a blur for Peridot. A blur of a car door being kicked closed. A blur of dragging a tan girl through her front door, and laying her on the couch. A blur of practically drowning her in hydrogen peroxide, then wrapping gauze around their head and stomping around the house in a feeble attempt to come down from a panic. 

When Peridot's surroundings came into focus and she stopped hyperventilating, Peridot finally caved. She sank to her knees and, clutching her shirt, began crying. It came first as a few nimble whimpers of fear, before it eventually hit a crescendo and turned into a heaving sob of dread. Peridot curled up against the damp wooden floor in the middle of the living room, bawling into her knees. "Oh, god.." She muttered, the sound muffled by the fabric of her pants. 

Five minutes elapsed before the crying subsided into small sniffles, Peridot still in the same position. When she finally came to, Peridot wiped her eyes with her sweater and tried to stand up.

Her legs felt weak and crooked, and Peridot grabbed the side of the couch to avoid falling. God, this was a fucking day. She instinctively reached up to her face, hoping she didn't fuck up.. 

Her glasses.

' _Shoot. I probably left them in the car.’_ Peridot numbly thought, shuffling back toward the front door. Before she left, she took one last look at Lapis' figure. There she laid; in solemn serenity, resting without the knowledge of her pain. Peridot tried to comfort herself with the fact that at least she didn't kill her and, exhaustingly, she opened the front door. 

Peridot shut the door behind her and speed walked to the drivers side of her car. She made sure to get to it and get it done as fast as possible. Peridot swung open the car door, retrieved her spectacles, then shut it back closed. She reached them up to her face, only to be faced with immeasurable disappointment. They'd been almost completely shattered; unsalvageable.

Deprived of emotion, Peridot tossed the glasses on the ground next to her and walked back to her front door. She held onto the collar of her sweater, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Her mind was a blank slate. It was trembling in fear, in absolute horror at what happened after this. What would Peridot do? What if the police found out? What would.. 

Peridot shut the front door behind her, shuffling to remove her shoes and lock the door. When she turned around, Peridot froze. Completely.

There, standing in the middle of her living room, was Lapis Lazuli. 

Peridot dropped her keys in shock. She opened her mouth to speak, but not even air came out. 

Because as their eyes met, Peridot saw a new side of Lapis Lazuli. It was like being stuck in the eye of a hurricane, or being circled by a pack of great white sharks. It made Peridot tremble in fear, and her eyes widened considerably. 

Lapis Lazuli was _pissed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry.


End file.
